CHAPTER THIRTEEN Tate

My office was quiet while I stared at the parking lot from my office window. The only sound came from a large ventilation duct in the ceiling. I normally left the door open, but for the past few days, I felt like I wanted to be alone in my head.

Alec's new Tesla truck was parked in his personal space and seeing it made me feel sad, depressed even. But then again, depressed wasn't quite accurate either. Try pissed off. Actually, try day number four of being pissed off.

The short holiday week found me commiserating daily about Monday's visit to the furniture store with Alec. The work week had been all about dodging him after his rude behavior at Luke's workplace. Avoiding one's boss wasn't usually a good sign concerning your employment prospects, but I knew he was into me and most likely wouldn't fire me. Besides, I was good at my job. That's why he hired me in the first place.

On one hand, his behavior was alarming, yet on the other, it was his normal conduct. There was an unappealing elitism about Alec, and, at times, he just seemed unkind. To bear witness to his privileged life made you wonder why he acted the way he did. What purpose was there in minimizing a person's worth by treating them poorly the way he had Luke?

"Why the hell are you mad at me?"Alec had asked after I stormed out of the furniture store on Monday and waited inside his Tesla truck. "You have to admit, those people are weird as shit, Tate."

"And you're rude as shit!"I'd exclaimed, pulling the passenger door shut as hard as I could. "And this truck is fucking ugly."

"Whoa! Now we're getting personal, huh?"

"Just take me home,"I'd demanded. "You've ruined this outing."

Tuesday at the office had been uncomfortable, to say the least. Alec avoided me all of Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. By Friday afternoon, my assistant, Tyler, couldn't hold his tongue any longer.

"Mr. Browning hasn't been by all week," he said, sliding a stack of papers onto my desk and waiting for a reply. "Not like him to stay away so long."

My face said it all when I looked up at him. I glared at Tyler as if looks could kill. "Do you have something to say, Tyler?" I snipped. "Because I prefer direct communication."

Tyler was taken aback by my outburst and backed away from my desk. When I went back to what I'd been doing, he turned, heading for the door to his desk just outside my office.

"Hang on," I called, feeling guilty and waiting for him to face me. "I'm sorry," I offered when he looked at me. "I'm being an asshole and I'm truly sorry. Can you sit for a minute?" He nodded. "Close that please," I said, motioning toward the door.

Tyler sat across from me at my desk. "I didn't mean to speak out of turn, sir."

I glanced outside for a moment, gathering my thoughts, before I turned back to Tyler. "What do you know about those folks in Madras?" I asked. "The ones outside of town on that religious compound, or whatever you call it."

"Are you referring to Half Moon Ranch, sir?" he asked.

"Call me Tate, please," I began. "And yes, those folks."

"Religious nuts, I've been told," he stated, crossing his legs and picking something off his expensive-looking slacks. "I think they're some sort of spiritual…" He looked up and noted my frown, hesitating for a second. "Organization."

I studied my assistant carefully. Tyler was a terrific-looking young man. Sort of an Ivy League-looking fellow. You could easily envision him playing on a lacrosse team at Princeton. Black hair, perfectly styled and slicked back, with a severe part on one side. He carried himself regally and dressed to perfection. His classic look expressed all business. I liked the Clark Kent aspect, but his slightly effeminate affectations weren't a turn-on for my taste in masculine men.

"You were about to say cult, right?" I asked.

He nodded. "People call them Moonies. I've only ever seen them in their shops, but I will admit, I've called them Moonies too," he admitted.

"Seems unkind," I said. "Do they cause trouble around Madras?"

"Not that I'm aware of," he said. "I guess their old-fashioned ways kinda freak people out. That, and they own so many businesses that I think it bothers people."

"Thanks," I said. "I was just wondering about them."

"Have you met any of them?" he asked. "And not to pry, but why the interest?" he added, probably not wanting to upset me further. I didn't respond at first as I gathered my thoughts, searching for an answer. Why was I so interested? He continued. "Like I said, and to be fair, I've only seen them out and about in their businesses, but don't know anyone from there personally, so I guess it's not fair to join in bashing them."

"I went to their furniture store in Bend last Monday," I revealed. "They produce nice stuff there."

"Did you see the men that work there?" he asked, grinning like he had a secret. "They might be old-fashioned and dress like squares, but yowza!" he exclaimed, fanning his face. "My mom buys furniture from them, and I'll admit that I have gone in once or twice on my own. She says she doesn't care if they're a cult, claims they design the best stuff for miles around."

"I noticed the incredible furniture," I admitted.

"How about the men? Did you notice any of them?" he asked. "Mom needed me to help her bring a table home once." Once again, he fanned the air. "Damn!" he exclaimed. "Made me wanna join their cult myself." Tyler looked behind him, forgetting he'd closed the door earlier. "There was this young guy there when I was with my mom. Tall, buzzed blond hair, buff as hell. I'd kill for five minutes with that one."

"Was his name Luke?" I asked, remembering the workers wore name tags.

Tyler narrowed his eyes as he searched his mind. He began nodding. "Yeah, that was his name. Mom introduced me to him. I went back a couple of times. You know," he said, emphasizing his words and raising his eyebrows seductively. "To look around on my own."

"And?" I asked, curious to know how that had gone. As well as jealous he'd also been attracted to Luke. "Was the same guy there?"

"I've been back, but never when he's working. I'm seeing a guy now, so I stopped drooling over the furniture hunk," he said. "Besides, how fun could it be with one of those men? I'm certain they can't be gay and live on that ranch of theirs. But the one I described, he was different somehow."

"Did you think the one you mentioned was gay?"

"Wishful thinking," he replied. He locked eyes with me before winking. "Are you interested in that boy hunk, Tate?" I blushed immediately and waved him off. "He's hot, isn't he?" Tyler pressed.

"I was simply looking for furniture."

"But you noticed him, right?"

"Well, yeah. I guess I did."

Tyler looked behind himself again and then leaned toward me, his hands gripping the side of my desk. "Do not tell Mr. Browning that."

"Why would I care what Mr. Browning thought?"

Tyler leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, gawking at me suspiciously. "No need to be coy with me, boss man."

I sat forward in my chair, wondering what he was on about. "I wasn't aware I was being coy," I stated. "And why shouldn't I mention to Mr. Browning that I noticed an attractive person?"

Tyler's expression soured, and he shook his head slowly. "I could lose my job here, so never mind," he stated. "Maybe I'll just shut up now."

"I'm your boss, Tyler, and we need to be able to trust one another," I began. "If you feel discretion is needed here, I'll respect your wishes. But what happens in my office is between me and you."

Tyler remained silent as I imagined he was mulling over whether he could trust me. "And what we say to each other is just between us?" he asked, motioning his hand between us. "You guarantee me I can speak in total confidence with you?"

"I insist that we're always honest and that we can speak freely and with trust."

"Well," he began, letting out a sigh. "From what I'm hearing here at the firm, and out and about in Bend's gay circles." He paused. "Hmmm," he whispered, studying me carefully while he held his chin. "You're sure you don't know about Mr. Browning?"

"I know he's our boss and he was the one who hired me to do a job," I stated.

"So, no other vibes you might be getting from him?"

"Are you asking me if I think he likes me as more than a team member?" I asked.

Tyler pointed a finger at me. "Yeah, that."

There I sat, wondering whether I should involve my assistant in my private business. He obviously knew, or had certainly heard some gossip, but how should I proceed without fucking us both over?

"I've wondered," I admitted.

Tyler laughed. "You wondered, huh?" he mocked. I nodded. "With all due respect, sir. You cannot be that blind."

Now Tyler was bordering on being disrespectful, but I had walked him down the plank this far, so best to stick with trusting him. "Please bring me up to date, then."

"From what I'm hearing, Mr. Browning has his heart set on you, Tate. He is planning on you two being Bend's A-list gay couple. You've caught the hint, right?" he asked, not waiting for an answer. "I mean, I sit outside your door. I see every single visit he makes here, and I pick up every single call from his assistant to forward to you. His desire for you is pretty obvious."

"You noticed all that?" I asked, suddenly very aware that the visits and the calls numbered in the dozens and dozens since I'd started working here. "He's said things to others?" I asked.

"Only every connected gay person in Bend," he clarified. "The thing is…" Tyler stopped mid-sentence.

"Don't quiet down now," I insisted.

Tyler stood and walked to the door. He opened it and peered outside before shutting it again and making his way to my side, no longer sitting across from me.

"He tells everyone to prevent them from going for the guy he wants," he revealed. "The last guy he was into eventually got a restraining order against him."

My eyes widened, and I exhaled in surprise, nearly choking out a cough. "What?" I gulped.

Tyler nodded and kept watching the door. "Please, Tate. You did not hear this from me." We stared at one another. The cat was out of the bag and Tyler appeared to have even more intel.

"Is that all?" I asked.

"Not exactly," he replied. "That man, well, he also worked here. Mr. Browning hired him from a firm in Reno."

Tyler definitely had my full attention now. "Seriously?"

Tyler walked to the floor-to-ceiling windows and stared outside for about a full minute before turning around. "Did you meet Mr. Browning in a Zoom interview?" I nodded slowly, feeling a tad nauseous. Where was this going? "Figured," Tyler muttered. "I know he owns this place, but he sits in on all the hiring meetings, which is his right, but that is not truly his job until the final job offer. Mary in HR says that no matter what qualifications the candidate might possess, if the guy interviewing isn't hot, he isn't hired for important positions."

"There's nothing wrong with the owner of a company wanting to be involved with hiring," I stated.

"Mr. Browning only sits in when the job is a high-paying position. If the candidate is old, overweight, or talks about his wife and kids, he gets up and walks out of the meeting by making up some lame emergency. Mary and her team immediately know that the job will not be offered at that point."

"You ever think it's a coincidence?" I defended, not feeling comfortable that I was the most recent hire.

Tyler shook his head, his lip curled in dismay. "You're the fourth to fill this position in criminal defense, Tate. The highest-paid lawyer in the house. You're the fourth of four—in less than eighteen months, I might add."

"Fourth?" I whispered. "What the?" I mumbled.

"The guy before you turned out to be engaged. Gay, but engaged. He was terminated after Mr. Browning couldn't break them up. Here again, all word of mouth. Apparently, that one considered suing, but never did. Anyway, I have zero proof of that, but the one before him was the one that filed the restraining order against Mr. Browning."

"That's only three," I pointed out.

"The other one is in prison," he said.

My heart seized at his words. "For?" I inquired.

"I cannot verify this because I was hired two years ago, and this was just before I joined the firm, but it has been alleged and spoken of around here frequently, that the man beat the shit out of Mr. Browning after being constantly harassed after breaking up with him."

"No," I stated, not wanting to be involved in rumors. "Alec? No way!" I exclaimed.

"I don't have the necessary passwords for classified case files, so I haven't seen them, but I hear there are files there regarding the lawsuit. If you can, search for Browning vs Hamill. Apparently, the tea is all there."

I wanted to ignore the claims Tyler made, but I could see signs that perhaps Alec was capable of these accusations.

"I like you, Tate," he said. "I'd be very careful concerning Mr. Browning."

"Noted," I said. "How about we never speak of this conversation again?" I suggested.

"You're not going to rat on me, are you? I need this job."

"Here, in this office," I motioned around the room. "Everything said is between me and you only."

Tyler left the office, and I spun around in my chair just in time to see Alec meeting a floral delivery truck in the parking lot.